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Introduction to Linux - A Hands on Guide

This guide was created as an overview of the Linux Operating System, geared toward new users as an exploration tour and getting started guide, with exercises at the end of each chapter.
For more advanced trainees it can be a desktop reference, and a collection of the base knowledge needed to proceed with system and network administration. This book contains many real life examples derived from the author's experience as a Linux system and network administrator, trainer and consultant. They hope these examples will help you to get a better understanding of the Linux system and that you feel encouraged to try out things on your own.

And, by the way, I tried printing again - no go. I get a message on the screen that the printer is printing, and then that the job has been completed - but there has been no activity in the printer itself.

Meanwhile, now that I am getting relatively less ignorant (!), I ran lsusb from the terminal, and sure enough, the HP Printer was there alright. Here is that output:

Well, your first two attempts showed no printer in the output, but your third did enumerate it? Was that because it wasn't connected or turned on? Or perhaps a fault USB cable? You might want to check on that. Anyway, when it was working, your dmesg output is as expected.

Running the HPLIP 'hp' backend manually, should enumerate details about the printer attached. Since it doesn't, there does seem to be a communication problem with the USB subsystem somehow. So, 'hp-setup' i never going to find it. It's strange that this manifested after you say you upgraded from Mint 17.2 to Mint 17.3, but maybe the upgrade is not complete somehow?

However, when I am able to print from the printer using another computer - also running an earlier version of Linuxmint. And the computer, too, is able to print successfully to another printer. So it appears that the problem is a sort of stand-off between computer and printer. Puzzling.

I went to localhost:631 and did the AddPrinter routine - successfully, but when I tried to print a testpage, it didn't go through and gave a message "Filter failed".

Are both machines using the same driver? Have you tried another driver? Try one of the Generics within cups webpage page, or run the command:

Are both machines using the same driver? Have you tried another driver? Try one of the Generics within cups webpage page, or run the command:

I don't think such an option exists for this model. The HP120 is a 'host-based' printer, using a proprietary protocol, unlike other HP models using PCL etc. The question is why the 'hp' backend cannot explicitly detect the device as a valid printer.

Hmmm....I stumbled across this interesting Red Hat bug report where a user trying to configure the same model reported that 'hp-setup' couldn't detect the printer, until they power-cycled the printer while connected to the USB port. It seems that this caused the required firmware to be loaded first.

Quote:

Right after logging in I started hp-setup, to see whether it is able to create a queue for this printer and then I got the bug reproduced. hp-setup needed longer time to search for USB printers and in the end no printer was found, so it did not see my printer. "lsusb" lists my printer though.

Now I power-cycled the printer. It made noise once for its startup and a second time for receiving its firmware from the computer. After that it was again listed by "lsusb" but this time hp-setup could find it. I also could print.

So the problem seems booting with the printer turned on. It works if turning it on after boot or power-cycling it after a boot with the printer already turned on.

Thank you, people! This is becoming quite an epic! Let me try and summarize my current state of knowledge:

1. The suspicion that the problem might lie with a faulty USB cable appears misplaced, because the same USB cable, attached to a separate computer, manages to print perfectly well on the same printer. This second computer is running an earlier version of LinuxMint;

2. The problem might lie with a mismatch between the Ubuntu version that LinuxMint 17.3 runs on, and the latest HPLIP version. This might be solved by deleting the latest HPLIP version, and going back to an earlier version of it.

3. The problem might lie with HPLIP itself - in which case, the thing to do would be to delete HPLIP altogether, and install that other foo-something.

However, with both 2. and 3., I am at the outer limit of my competence, and would welcome - indeed, be grateful for - detailed instructions about how to proceed.